Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah Ghaly (born 15 July 1992) is an Egyptian international footballer who plays as a winger for Liverpool, having arrived from Roma for a reported fee of £36,900,000 in 2017. Liverpool career With Sadio Mane having been missing for large periods of the 2016-17 season with no real backup, Jurgen Klopp looked to sign a proven quality winger, to add more depth in the position. Salah had been close to signing for Liverpool back in 2014, and had shown quality performances for Roma in the past few seasons. In May 2017 reports began to emerge that Liverpool were again interested in the Egyptian, but Roma were insisting on a fee of around £40,000,000, which the Reds saw as too much. Weeks later, it seemed that the price had been haggled down, and on 21 June 2017 reliable journalists stated that a much lower fee had been accepted by Roma, and that Salah was to complete a medical the next day. On 22 June 2017, it was confirmed that Salah had signed for Liverpool on a five year deal for a reported fee of £36,900,000, making him the club's record signing, surpassing Andy Carroll by almost £2,000,000. It was confirmed that he was to wear the number 11 shirt, given to him by Roberto Firmino. Salah made his unofficial debut on 14 July 2017, playing 45 minutes and scoring his first goal in a 1-1 draw against Wigan. After an impressive pre-season, netting four goals, Salah was named in the starting lineup for the opening game of the season. With the Reds 2-1 down, Salah won a penalty which was converted by Roberto Firmino, before Firmino played a lovely dinked ball allowing Salah to give Liverpool the lead on his debut. This looked to be the winning goal before poor defending caused the Reds to concede a last gasp equaliser. On 23 August, Salah netted Liverpool's second in an eventual 4-2 over Hoffenheim in the Champions League playoff, tapping it in after Georginio Wijnaldum's effort struck the post. On 27 August 2017, Salah was named man-of-the-match after a 4-0 win over Arsenal at Anfield. Salah scored Liverpool's third of the game, running the length of the pitch after an Arsenal scorned before coolly finishing past Petr Cech. Salah then went on to assist Daniel Sturridge's goal with an inch perfect cross. Salah was later named Liverpool's Player of the Month in his first month at the club. Salah's form continued to be very impressive, with the Egyptian netting a further three goals in September. On 17 October 2017, Salah scored a brace, and assisted a Roberto Firmino goal in a 7-0 win over Maribor. In his next four games, Salah netted four times, with the last two being two very impressive finishes in a 4-1 win over West Ham. On 18 November 2017, Salah scored twice in a 3-0 win over Southampton. The first was a lovely curling effort into the corner from the edge of the box, whilst the other was a cute close range finish after a fantastic ball from Philippe Coutinho. Salah’s second was his 9th goal in 12 Premier League appearances, more than any other Liverpool player in history, eclipsing Robbie Fowler’s record. A week later, he became the first player to score 10 Premier League goals this season, opening the scoring in a 1-1 draw against his former club, Chelsea. On 29 November 2017, Salah came on with 20 minutes to play, and scored twice in a 3-0 win over Stoke. This took him to eight goals in November alone. His incredible performances led to him being named PFA Player of the Month. December carried on with Salah’s fantastic form. On 6 December, Salah rounded off a 7-0 Champions League win over Spartak Moscow with a good finish from inside the area. Four days later, Salah opened the scoring in the Merseyside Derby, with an incredible curling finish from the right side of the penalty area. On 17 December 2017, Salah scored his 20th goal for Liverpool, after just 26 games. This meant he matched Daniel Sturridge’s record, with only George Allan in 1895 beating the two. A followed this up with another in his next game, netting Liverpool’s second in an eventual 3-3 draw with Arsenal. On 30 December, Salah scored twice as Liverpool came from a goal down to beat Leicester City at Anfield. After two weeks out through injury, Salah returned to first team action in a 4-3 win over Manchester City, who had previously been undefeated in the Premier League. Salah scored the winning goal, curling into an empty net from 30 yards after the City goalkeeper’s clearance fell right to him. Salah had also previously assisted Sadio Mane’s effort. Salah continued his run with four goals in his next four appearances, including two world class efforts in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham, which were his 20th and 21st league goals of the season. He managed this feat in just 25 appearances, faster than any Liverpool player in over 100 years. He followed his up with Liverpool’s second in a 2-0 win away to Southampton, finishing a 1v1 opportunity following a lovely backheek from Roberto Firmino. On 14 February 2018, Salah scored his 30th goal of the season, latching on to James Milner’s rebounded effort, before juggling the ball over the goalkeeper and finishing coolly, to grab Liverpool’s second in an eventual 5-0 win away to Porto. This made him the second fastest to ever reach this landmark. He added one further to do this in his next game, striking the second in a 4-1 win over West Ham. Honours Individual *Standard Chartered Player of the Month: 4 (August 2017, September 2017, November 2017, December 2017) *PFA Player of the Month: 1 (November 2017) *Premier League Player of the Month: 1 (November 2017) Stats Category:Current Players Category:Forwards